Welcome to this week's Tracks Of The Week. Six brand-new and diverse slices of progressively inclined music for you to enjoy.
It may not come as the biggest surprise to many that Ghost Of The Machine romped home last week with over half the votes for Panopticon. Certainly bodes well for their upcoming second album Empires Must Fall. Swedish prog rockers Nebula Nine put up a fight, coming in second and with French post-rockers Bruit ≤ in third place.
The premise for Tracks Of The Week is simple - we've collated a batch of new releases by bands falling under the progressive umbrella, and collated them together in one post for you - makes it so much easier than having to dip in and out of various individual posts, doesn't it?
The idea is to watch the videos (or listen if it's a stream), enjoy (or not) and also to vote for your favourite in the voting form at the bottom of this post. Couldn't be easier, could it?
We'll be bringing you Tracks Of The Week, as the title implies, each week. Next week we'll update you with this week's winner, and present a host of new prog music for you to enjoy.
If you're a band and you want to be featured in Prog's Tracks Of The Week, send your video (as a YouTube link) or track embed, band photo and biog to us here.
GLEB KOLYADIN - DAWNLIGHT
Iamthemorning keyboardist Gleb Kolyadin has shared a new animated video for the delightful Dawnlight, which is taken from his upcoming fourth solo album, Mobula, which will be released through Kscope Records on February 28. Kolyadin tells us Mobula is "a suite of 14 short stories, each one a vibrant novella in sound," and he will launch the album with a one-off show at Smithfield Piano on London on the day of Mobula's release.
"From neoclassical elegance to pulsating electronic beats and folk textures, Mobula traverses genres and emotions, mirroring the movements of an imaginary planet and its ever-changing atmospheres," say Kolyadin's label of the new album.
MARKO HIETALA - ROSES FROM THE DEEP
Rather like his debut album, 2020's Pyre Of The Black Heart, former Nightwish bassist and vocalist Marko Hietala continues to mix solidly catchy hard rock and prog rock to great effect on the upcoming Roses From The Deep. Some rock harder, and some are more atmospheric and epic, like the title track to the new album. Perfect music for those who like heavier but catchy prog-infused rock music.
“The song itself is a romantic ghost story," explains Hietala. "The dead may be longing for what’s lost just as much as the living. Maybe more. Even if the lines like 'I’d come for you' might sound a bit sinister coming from a ghost.
So there it is! Thank you all for having patience and faith for your nordic weirdo and his bunch of weirdos. Check out the album and head on to the shows, if we tickle your fancy."
MCSTINE & MINNEMANN - SURVIVE
Steven Wilson alumni Randy McStine and Marco Minnemann need little introduction to prog fans and the pair will release their third collaborative album, III, on April 4. They strike a contemporary Rush meets The Police-like vibe on new single Survive. The pair have been collaborating together since 2020, creating progressively intriguing music without ever pandering to the obvious influences.
“The song musically condenses many of the elements I gravitate toward in a succinct way," says McStine of Survive. "It’s about an individual’s journey in choosing to close out negativity of the past and present or to move towards a better future. The chorus touches on that human feeling of being more present or awake in moments where survival seems uncertain.”
PHASE TRANSITION - BECOMING, (R)EVOLUTION
Portuguese prog trio Phase Transition, who Prog first write about when they released their debut EP Relatively Speaking back in 2020, will finally release their debut album, In Search Of Being, on June 6, from which comes the vibrantly engaging Becoming, (R)evolution. Based out of Porto, Portugal, the band is comprised of violinist/vocalist Sofia Beco, guitarist Luís Dias, and drummer Fernando Maia and Anathema drummer Daniel Cordoso handled the final production, mixing, and mastering for the new album.
"Becoming, along with Veil Of Illusions, had a different writing process than what we were used to," the band explain. "In the end, it really worked out well. We’re really proud of both tracks, and they wouldn’t be as amazing as they are without everyone’s contribution! I love the super catchy melodies that Sofia came up with, and I think the heavy riffs, guitar tone, and those proggy sections in the middle are just next-level. This song really hits hard—it’s straight up in your face!"
YOU, INFINITE - THE ELDER
Jeremy Galindo and Raymond Brown were founding members of acclaimed post-rockers This Will Destroy You, and the pair have joined up to form a new outfit, you, infinite. Having left TWDY to pursue a career in medicine, Brown hooked back up with Galindo to share some new music he'd been working on, the catalyst for the start of you, infinite.
The pair will release their self-titled, debut full-length album for Pelagic Records on February 28, on which they're joined by Johnnie McBryde, Ethan Billips and Nicholas Huft, all current members of TWDY alongside Galiundo. It's a different vibe to TWDY though, still in a richly melodic post-rock vein, but grander in scope and atmospherics, nearer to where prog and post-rock frequently collide.
PALE EPIPHANY - HOLLOW'S END
Swedish prog rock quartet Pale Epiphany began life as a side project conceived by Seventh Dimension guitarist Luca Della Fave a decade ago. Since then the idea has slowly developed into a full-grown band who will be releasing their self-titled debut album through Corrupted Records on February 28. The band cite a range of influences from Porcupine Tree, Pain Of Salvation, Evergrey, and Andromeda, while their music explores themes of anger, frustration, and disillusionment
"Each track reflects the inner turmoil of a person struggling with bitterness and detachment from the world around them, resulting in a powerful and cathartic listening experience," the band reflect.
![PALE EPIPHANY - HOLLOW'S END [OFFICIAL VIDEO] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ADZy9Vrvcd0/maxresdefault.jpg)
